Mention online video and what pops into mind?

Cats and dogs getting into silly situations, right? Or if you’re a sports nut like me, maybe it’s the year’s top 10 soccer goals or golf shots. Kids doing funny things, perhaps? I don’t have to list them all – you no doubt have some on your Facebook page right now.

But even the most popular “viral” videos, the ones that rack up hundreds of thousands of views, don’t make any money. Sure there are some exceptions.

“David After Dentist,” which features a young boy talking to his dad as the effects of anesthesia wear off and has 108 million views, is estimated to have made David (or his parents) a profit in the low six figures through sales of T-shirts and other merchandise. But that really is the exception to the rule.

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Videos in this market can form the basis of an entire business. As you’ll see in a moment, they can get you more bang for your marketing buck, make content creation fun and easy, and much, much more.

And if you’re worried about not having the skills or equipment necessary… rest assured that you don’t need any on-camera experience, editing skills, fancy software or expensive cameras and lights. I’ll show you how to put together professional looking videos with low-cost solutions all around. And give you tips for getting comfortable in the spotlight.

With a little practice you’ll be making profitable videos in no time.

Speaking of online video, let me share with you a video that actually had me pulling out my wallet last week.

My family and I live near the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. But we decided to head down to the Pacific coast for a day trip. There are a ton of wildlife tours in the area, and we were having trouble picking which activity we wanted to do… that is until we saw the video for Jose’s Crocodile Tour. You can check out the whole video here: http://www.crocodilerivertour.com/.

To give you an idea of what the trip was like, check out the photo I took during our time on the river.

Why Make Online Videos?

Let’s get the most obvious question out of the way first: why should you go through the trouble of making videos for your online business?

The simple answer is, people love watching them. After all, which would you prefer: reading page after page of information, or watching a video that actually shows that same information in a much more exciting, stimulating manner?

Plus, online videos aren’t just attractive to people. They will also increase the visibility of your website on search engines like Google and Bing. Here’s an industry secret: Websites that contain videos will appear higher on the list of search results than those that don’t. And hosting videos on YouTube (owned by Google) is also a guaranteed traffic driver – just be sure to include your main website’s URL in the video or in the information section below.

Say you have a website that teaches how to use digital cameras and on your website you include videos that demonstrate the features of the different models you review.

If somebody does a search on how to operate a digital camera, your website will automatically be higher on the list of results than those without videos. Your competitors without videos may even do a more thorough and knowledgeable job than you, but since the search algorithms used by Google and other search engines favor websites with videos, your website will be closer to the top every time.

And the more eyeballs that land on your website, the more money in your pocket.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to the type of videos you can create: how-to or instructional, travel, talk shows, “talking head,” webinars (using Camtasia, which records your computer screen), interviews with experts in your niche… basically, almost anything can be an online video.

Check out other websites in your niche or do a YouTube search to get some ideas.

Profiting From Your Online Videos

There are a couple of ways for you to turn your online videos into money in the bank.

If you have an existing Internet business, simply start adding video content with the guidelines below (you can skip ahead a bit, if you like). If you’re a new online entrepreneur, you must first pick a niche for your business.

One of the most profitable kinds of video to produce are instructional videos. People are watching these videos for their informational content, not their production value, so your approach can be relatively low-tech. This means a smaller start-up investment.

For example, a carpenter friend of mine, J.R., recently started making a series of how-to videos showing how to make simple wood-working projects. It started out purely as a hobby, a creative outlet for something he loved to do.

His setup: a single camera set on a bookshelf pointed at his workbench and a microphone hanging overhead, just out of frame. J.R. doesn’t need fancy lighting or flashy special effects – part of the appeal of his videos are their simplicity. And just like him, with a little ingenuity, you can make your lack of polish an asset, not a handicap. By making these short, instructional videos, J.R. turned a hobby into a tidy little passive income of $1,000+ a month.

The important thing is to pick something you’re passionate or knowledgeable about. Like J.R., his start-up cost was limited to a camera and the microphone – that should be your initial goal. Since carpentry is his trade, he already had all the tools he needed. And like most folks, he already had a computer. Nothing fancy, either, just your standard desktop.

It’s important to remember – you’re not looking to make the next Hollywood special effects bonanza – just a clean, effective production with valuable information.

But you also want to pick a topic that will appeal to a wide range of people. Your passion might be bird-feeders, for example, but that is probably too narrow of a niche to turn a profit by making informational bird-feeder videos. If you wanted to expand your scope to all-around care for birds, on the other hand, and include videos on cages, seeds, hygiene and yes, bird-feeders, then you might be on to something.

(For a step-by-step guide to nailing down a profitable niche check out my articles, “Money for Your Ideas” and “Cashing in on Hot Trends” Those essays will also show you how to set up and manage your own website – all you really need to make money online.)

Once you have your niche continue on…

If you’re making your own videos for the first time, you’ll probably want to offer them for free. Because you’ll be offering your informational videos for free, you’ll need to build a library, or hub, of information for your target niche.

In addition to the videos you make, you can include articles, podcasts, or anything else you can think of that contains information your prospect will find useful. But, of course, videos are going to be the main focus.

All these videos and other types of content will, as I mentioned previously, drive traffic to your website. People searching for information on your niche will find you through Google or Bing.

Because you have informative and fun-to-watch videos, that’ll speed up the process of having viewers come to know, like, and trust you. That’s absolutely essential for a prospect to turn into an actual customer… and then a repeat customer.

In this model you won’t actually sell your videos – let’s save that for a future essay. For now, you’ll be making money on website ads and affiliate marketing. So the videos themselves are more like marketing tools.

First, look into Google AdSense and sign up as a publisher. Google will give you a little code you can pop into your site to automatically run ads related to the content throughout. Each time a visitor clicks on those ads you make a few cents (or more, depending on the topic). May not seem like much, but when you’re talking about thousands of website visitors… it can add up over the course of a month.

Then you’ll start offering affiliate products. The beauty of affiliate marketing is that when somebody buys something by clicking through your site, your revenue is guaranteed – and there isn’t the hassle of customer service or shipping. You advertise (through ads or editorial mentions) and then get a commission on sales – that’s it.

You’ll be able to place both the space ads and affiliate product mentions throughout your website. And since your website contains video, more people will find your page, which means more people will click on the advertising on your site.

How to Make Great Online Videos

Making a video can seem like a daunting task: gathering equipment, shooting video and audio, editing, adding titles and music…for the entrepreneur who didn’t study filmmaking in school, it can seem a little overwhelming.

And while there are plenty of companies out there that can take your ideas and turn out a professional-looking product, making a great-looking and effective video yourself is not as hard as you think.

Let’s break it down step-by-step:

1. Get Your Equipment (The Essentials)

Chances are, as an online entrepreneur, you already have one of the most important tools needed to make online videos: a computer. Many computers today even come preloaded with easy, intuitive video-editing software. But if you have to buy the software, there are plenty of programs under $100 that will fit your needs. Some programs, like Video Spin and Serif MoviePlus Starter, come with a free trial so you can try them out first and find the one you’re most comfortable with. Windows Movie Maker is free.

The next piece of equipment you’ll need is a digital camcorder. A simple flip cam will do the job – but even your digital point-and-shoot should have a video option and even your iPhone has the ability to shoot high-quality video.

Also, not vital… but you also might try an external mic to boost audio quality. But don’t worry, they’re cheap. Check out Amazon.com for plenty of options under $20.

As far as lighting, use what you already have – table lamps, windows, whatever you can think of. You might try a utility floodlight from Home Depot – about $10. Just be sure to watch out for pesky shadows.

For the true beginner, you might not even want to think about editing. All you really need to make a video is a simple point-and-shoot camera. You shoot your video, transfer it to your computer using the software included with your camera, and upload to an internet video-hosting site, like YouTube or Vimeo.

2. Cast Your Video (The Fun Part)

If you’re comfortable being on camera, by all means, be the “talent” in your videos. But if you’re camera-shy, don’t worry. You don’t even need an on-screen person. Many successful online videos feature voice-over narration alone. The software program Camtasia is handy for this, especially when you’re demonstrating something on your computer.

But if you’re producing a video on a topic you’re not familiar with, think about hiring a qualified expert. For example, if you’re at the gym one day and notice an elderly gentleman with muscles that a twenty year old would envy, consider approaching him with an idea to make informational videos showcasing his specific workout routine. It can’t hurt to ask, and who knows, you may have just discovered an untapped niche market!

4. Shoot and Edit (The Big Part)

When you’re making your first video or two, simplicity is the key. Just make sure you or your subject is in focus. And stay out of shadows. Maybe open the blinds to get better lighting. Experiment with camera angles. These little details can really have a big impact and can transform your videos from seeming like amateur efforts to solid, professional, and reliable products. And once you’ve found the right set-up of camera, lighting, and sound, you’ll be able to use it over and over.

Other items to consider: who is your target audience? If you’re marketing to children, the tone and style of your video will be very different than if you are marketing to lawyers. Are you going to insert graphics or music? What types would be appropriate for the market you’re trying to reach?

Also, decide on a balance between information and entertainment. A purely informational video might make the viewer feel like they’re in a classroom while a video that mixes information with humor, for example, will not only hold their attention, but also get them excited about your product.

Too much entertainment and not enough information, however, might have the opposite effect, and succeed only in convincing your prospect that your product has little substance. Experiment until it feels right.

Next, write the script for your video. This is the blueprint. It includes the words that are spoken as well as detailed descriptions of the visuals that accompany the words and music.

Writing the script is an organic process. It can evolve right to the point of actual filming. Who knows, you may do one take on-camera and be struck with inspiration and change it for the second take.

Now, when you have your footage shot, it’s time to load it into your computer and edit it down into a compelling, information-rich video. Watch commercials on TV. Scan the internet and see how other companies that you admire do it, and borrow a little of their style.

How long should it be? You’ll want to include your website and contact info somewhere in the video, as well – should it be in the beginning or at the end? These are all things you should consider.

Like I said before, experiment. You’ll know it in your bones when you’ve found the right combination.

The last tip: just get started. Your first videos don’t have to be perfect, and it’ll take some practice before you feel comfortable. But soon you’ll be filling up your spot.

So… just go for it.

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Best of luck!

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P.S. I’ve just given you the steps you need to start making profitable online videos. But here are a few extra resources to help you navigate this exciting, dynamic medium.

Resources

Equipment

Amazon – www.amazon.com – The venerable online retailer offers several low cost options. Try the Flip Cam.

Camtasia – www.camtasia.com – This screen capture tool that records your computer screen in real time. Great for online demonstrations.

Window Movie Maker – www.microsoft.com

Building Your Site

GoDaddy – http://www.godaddy.com

WordPress – http://www.wordpress.com

Video Hosting

Vimeo – www.vimeo.com

YouTube – www.youtube.com

Marketing and Affiliate Networks

Commission Junction -  www.cj.com

Amazon – https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

Google AdSense – https://www.google.com/adsense

Online Video Tips

If you’re stuck for ideas for the content or format of your videos, check out YouTube – and not just for examples in your niche: www.youtube.com

We were moseying along when out of nowhere a police cruiser pulls up behind us and turned on his lights. To say we were surprised would have been an understatement. We dutifully pulled over and gathered the documents we knew the officer would request to see. Once at the driver’s side window the officer informed us we were speeding, unbeknownst to us the speed limit had dropped by 10 mph a few hundred feet back. We never saw the sign or knew that we were breaking the law.

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After a being checked out by the police officer we receive a ticket. We had planned to politely argue that the sign was not readily apparent and maybe we should have been given a break, but once issued the ticket all our arguments were moot. It really chapped my hide to receive the ticket as I felt like the officer was using the sudden drop in speed to trick motorists into getting caught. What I really wanted to say was, “Go catch the real criminals, you jerk!” But thankfully cooler heads prevailed and I kept my mouth shut.

When we got home hours later I was still pissed about the whole experience. In no way did I want to just roll over and pay the ticket thereby admitting guilt. Nope I plan to fight the ticket.

One thing I know is that it was good I didn’t try to argue with the officer. Once you see those blue and white lights behind you, it’s important to get your attitude right. No officer is going to let a jerk that argues or hurls insults at him off with just a warning. You want the officer to like you so switch off the car, turn down the radio, take off your sunglasses, keep your hands at 10 and 2 and be polite.

If the officer asks you if you know why you were pulled over, never say that you do. Or if he asks you, “Do you know how fast you were going?” politely respond, “No, officer, I don’t.”  No matter what. Anything you say in this instance can be construed as an admission of guilt. Plus the officer may not have pulled you over for the violation you think. It may be what you actually did is worse than what the officer saw you do. Let him tell you what offense he pulled you over for.

If you do get a ticket, leave the scene in a calm matter, making no bold moves. You don’t want to anger the officer nor do anything that would make him remember you. Your next actions will be legal maneuvers so the less the officer remembers you the harder it will be for him to recall details about your case.

As soon as you get your ticket begin preparing your defense. Read over all information printed on the ticket. Look for any inaccuracies. Did he write down your license plate incorrectly? Or print the wrong street name where the offense occurred?  Etc. Any inaccuracies can discredit the officer in court and get the ticket dismissed.

Snap any pictures with your cell phone that could help your case. If I had been smarter I would have taken pictures of the obscure nature of the speed limit sign we missed. Take pictures and make note of all relevant details like road conditions, heavy traffic, or the weather that might influence your case.

The next step will be to contest your ticket. Your court date will be written somewhere on your ticket. It is imperative you show up to court that day looking presentable and like a responsible member of society. A three piece suit will be overkill, but ripped jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt will not impress the judge either. Dress casually, but nicely.

The best case scenario will be to show up for court, ready to present your case and the officer who issued you the ticket does not. In this instance, your case will be dismissed. Any fines issued against you will be returned, you’ll receive no points on your license and the instance will not go on your driving record. This is the easiest way to win your court case and happens with some regularity.

Another tactic is delay the trial as long as possible. Ask the court for a continuance to put off your court date. This will put even more time between when you received the ticket and when you finally go to court, making any details harder for the police officer to remember. If the officer can’t remember the details of why he pulled you over, you will most likely get out of the ticket. In some jurisdictions you can only ask for one continuance, but in others you can ask for several.

If you get a ticket anytime near the holidays it might behoove you to ask for a continuance until the holiday nears. This increases the chances the police officer will be on vacation and not show up for court on the new day of your trial, which means your case will be dismissed!

Sometimes fighting a ticket may cost you more than the actual cost of the ticket. In these instances it may not make sense to fight it. Find out what the maximum fine will be for your violation, the court fees, what if any jail time you are facing, and increased insurance rates.  Also if it’s a serious offense or you have multiple offenses you should hire an attorney.

In other cases fighting a ticket is exactly what you should do. A lot of times if you have a clean driving record or this is your first offense, going to court will help you reduce your fine and the points put on your license.

You should also go to court if there were extenuating circumstances. I read a story about a father traveling with his daughters on the highway, at one point a bird got caught in their windshield wipers. His daughters got scared and began screaming so he sped up to dislodge the bird quickly. A cop clocked him speeding just at that moment. The cop didn’t buy the excuse and issued him the ticket, but once the man told the judge the story in court, he dismissed the case and the father didn’t have to pay any fines or get points put on his license.

I plan to go to court and hope the officer does not show up so my case will be dismissed immediately. If I do go to trial I plan to describe to the judge how the sudden speed limit slow down sign was not readily apparent. I hope my circumstances will be enough to sway the judge to dismiss my case. For me, this is really about removing the ticket from my record so I won’t incur higher premiums from my auto insurance carrier.

What I learned in my research is that going to court is half the battle. You have very little to lose and will more than likely at least get a reduction in fines and points.

Anyone else had success out there fighting a ticket? Drop me a note in the comments section. I look forward to hearing from you!

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Keeping Money in Your Pocket,

Nancy Patterson

By Jim Sheridan.

Welcome back, brothers and sisters…

This week, I share with you one of the greatest secrets of success in the form of some past lessons from your cousins across the pond…

I’m writing to you mid-Atlantic, on a night flight to England, and I just finished watching Meryl Streep’s latest film, ‘The Iron Lady’. If you haven’t seen it, please do, because she’s amazing in it. Streep’s not an actress, she’s a vessel- she actually becomes the character. And that’s not acting, it’s being.

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In ‘The Iron Lady’, Streep plays the woman who was the British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, Margaret Thatcher (somewhat a parallel to the Reagan era). Anyway, the film touched me perhaps more than most because I was living and maturing in the UK during her time. I witnessed England before her, and after her, and the differences were stark. Up until 1979, the UK was in the grip of trade unions, but she changed the country forever, pulling it out of post-war decline, and assuring it’s place in one of the G-8 countries with a AAA credit rating (that’s higher than America’s, by the way).

This is all going somewhere that directly affects YOU, so please bear with me…

But in the UK today, the word “Thatcher” has become a dirty word, in spite of this. Brits seem happy to enjoy a good economy with all the modern comforts and facilities, as well as a corporation tax rate of just 19% (compared to America’s 35%) to encourage entrepreneurship. All this is Thatcher’s legacy.

Why the intense disgust?

Because Margaret Thatcher made tough, but necessary decisions in order for the country to survive economically. Entire communities were decimated as she closed or privatized coal mines and steel works (though why the hell they weren’t always privatized in the first place is beyond me!). She sold off nationalized industries, including British Airways, and the stock market grew rich from the fact. I knew people whose lives were destroyed as a direct result of her policies. So it’s understandable why this anger towards her in engrained in modern British society. Think of an industry that your town revolves around, and then imagine what would happen if it closed…

But what was the alternative? Oblivion. But she had the guts (yes, “SHE”, a woman…) to do what the male politicians wouldn’t: to NOT pander to the voters, because she knew what was good for the country, and the voters CLEARLY did not- they had proven as much by voting for policies that were destroying it because they have no knowledge of economics. And the voters didn’t WANT to look at the new opportunities being created by Thatcher, such as buying shares in British Airways, an airline that, at the time, was a total monopoly (a monopoly, and an airline on an ISLAND. Think about it…). No, people just want that ‘steady’ paycheck each week.

Thatcher lived in reality, not fantasy. And she made the hard choice. She was a responsible politician who grew up during World War II under the blaze of Nazi bombs in the blitz of 1940, a time when people had a sense of unity, responsibility, and patriotism. She was a modern day Queen Elizabeth I. She would openly give tough advice to the 80s British population straight out of food-rationed, wartime Britain- things like: “If you’re on a tight budget, then don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.” (Nancy Patterson of Wednesday’s Easy Street newsletter would approve, I’m sure…)

And that’s why she was so unpopular. People don’t want reality, they want fantasy. They don’t want the pain, only gain. In short, the Western world isn’t populated by adults as much as children…

Human psychology can be boiled down to some very simple axioms, and one of them is this: most of what we do on a daily basis revolves around PAIN AVOIDANCE.

I’m not just talking about physical pain, but emotional, financial, and just about any other kind of pain. In caveman times, this is exactly what we needed to survive. This pain avoidance instinct is why we’re here today. But it also betrays you in this modern world…

Much of our actions are hard-wired from an ancient time in our evolution tens of thousands of years ago. Let’s take eating, as an example. Our brains are hard-wired to give us a pleasurable sensation when we taste fatty and sweet things on our tongue. Is it any wonder why losing weight is hard?! But of course, what our evolution has done is reward us to store up energy in the form of fat in case we (cavemen) hit a food crisis. But these days, you could throw a rock in any direction and hit a fast food joint somewhere!

Our safe and comfortable existence is relatively new in our evolution. If you think about it, it’s really only the last 100 years at most that we knew where the next meal was coming from. What’s 100 years compared to 40,000?!

So we are literally programmed to avoid reality, to avoid the hard decisions we know we must make deep down. In fact, most people wait until the looming crisis is on top of them before they do anything. Why do you think we hate going to the dentist so much? We get toothache and hope it will go away, but we only make it worse for the day when we inevitably must go…

Take diseases as an example, diseases like diabetes, cancer, etc. It’s a fact that by the time you’re actually showing any symptoms, all you’re seeing there is the tip of the iceberg. The damage that has been done under the surface, the part you never saw, built up over time, and now curing the problem is even harder. As the saying goes, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’.

So what about YOU? Do you have the discipline to make the hard choice? What have you been putting off that you secretly know that you shouldn’t be? Take an honest look in the mirror and write it down. And then honestly picture the END GAME, the final event that will play out as a result of your choice to be ignorant…

What are your eating habits and where are they taking you? (Please read last week’s issue!)

How are your relationships? Are you putting off something that you know will eventually happen? Are you in denial instead of being open and confronting an issue? Get it off your chest.

How are your finances? Listen, honestly minus all your expenses from your income, and if the number is a negative, you are technically insolvent. That’s to say, you are steadily getting poorer each day, when you should be getting richer. You have to slash expenses (tough choice) and boost income somehow, and FAST. Where expenses and PASSIVE income meet is automatic and permanent solvency. By passive income I mean income that comes in without any work, like property rentals or royalties.

It’s time for you to do what these limp-handed, spineless politicians can’t: make the tough choices. You don’t have a printing press like they do, so you have to live in the real world and make real choices with a real consequence (for the better ultimately, even though it may hurt today).

And you know what? Often the perception of the pain we imagined isn’t half as bad as we thought it would be when we actually face it. Worry is a death you have over and over, every day. Actual death isn’t nearly as bad, and it only happens once. As the saying goes: ‘A coward dies a thousand times, but the brave die just once.”

Sometimes we blow this worry out of all proportion until we turn the lights on and see that the monster under the bed can be tamed, or even USED to our advantage. Fear is power, and any power can be harnessed for strength.

Margaret Thatcher’s central message was the thing that made her most unpopular: Stand on your own two feet and be all you can be. Life is what you make it. The rewards are out there, and if you want them, go for it. But if you don’t, then get out of the way of people who do.

I mean, was she an evil woman, or what?! Jeez, what a total witch for telling people things like that.

How does her central message make you feel right now? What is your end game…?

—

As a sidebar, notice how Thatcher didn’t privatize Britain’s health service though. Maybe because she thought that if you pay taxes all your life, you should get something back in old age. Maybe she believed that when you’re 70, you should be taking your grandkids to McDonald’s, not serving the burgers there so you could get health insurance. I don’t know what propaganda you’ve heard from big pharma serving politicians, but take it from someone who’s lived there and experienced it, the UK’s health service is a jewel in Her Majesty’s crown. If you ever visit, and you get in an accident, they will care for you until you’re completely well… and nobody will ask you for a credit card or even care that you’re not British.

Anyway, I’d better close this laptop and stop rambling because it’s getting a bit turbulent as we hit an Atlantic jet stream. I think I’ll get some sleep. And when I wake up, I’ll be in what seems like a foreign country now, only it happens to speak English. And it’s grey and raining.

Why does it feel foreign? Because the American Spirit is in my blood now. I can’t relate to a country that despises someone like Margaret Thatcher, despite the health service I admire. I came to America because it embraces a can-do attitude and chasing your dreams, so it upsets me when so many Americans betray that spirit or waste it away.

I will do what I have to do- see my great son- and then get back to the place I call home, and where the two adoring pairs of brown, almond eyes of my wife and daughter await my return.

Still, I can comfort myself in the pubs with ale. By the way, if you’re not an ale drinker, but maybe you drink lager (Budweiser, Miller, etc.) give real ale a try. I recommend Newcastle for entry-level… and work your way up to Guinness. More flavor, more body, more variety of tastes. Let me know if you have any good ale suggestions. And ladies, the Heineken factory tour in Amsterdam will tell you why you don’t like beer as much as men! Because women tend to sip, and men tend to gulp. If you sip beer, you tend to get the bitter taste of the foam only. So ladies, gulp! Or use a (more lady-like) straw…

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Cheers! Until next time, my friend…

Jim Sheridan

Books are moving away from paper to digital, or e-books. Much like what happened to the music industry and CDs when MP3 players such as the iPod hit the market, the e-book is gaining traction as a more convenient, environmentally-friendly alternative to printed books.

I know it’s been more convenient for my family. When we moved to Costa Rica a few months back, we didn’t have the space to bring down books. Hello e-books, which only take up space on your hard drive. This includes children’s books for my son, as well as the science fictions series I’m into.

E-books can be downloaded instantly and are often cheaper than their paper counterpart, which attracts customers. Thanks to devices such as the Nook, iPad, and Kindle, e-books are slowly but surely eroding the traditional publishing model.

And that means there is plenty of opportunity for entrepreneurs to profit.

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The Traditional Publishing Model

A few years ago, if you wanted to become a published writer, you had to find an agent. And that agent had to like your idea enough to think they could sell it to a publishing house. If the publishing house thought they could sell your book, they would assign you an editor. Then the editor and you would work on the manuscript until both of you were happy with the end result. If the publishing company still thought they could sell your book, they would turn it over to their marketing department. And then (finally!) your book would hit the market.

And nine times out of 10, your book wouldn’t make any money at all. Look at all the people above who worked on your book. Their salary has to come from somewhere – and that somewhere is from your book’s profits. Those are just cold, hard facts.

Only the top bestsellers, like those written by Stephen King or Nora Roberts, actually turned a profit. Even if your book was adored by the critics and even won some awards, chances are you (the writer) would still need to keep your day job.

And forgot about setting up your own publishing house. The costs of printing are huge – not to mention all the upfront capital you have to pour into the business to get it started.

Publishing an E-Book

Thanks to the digital revolution, publishing a book has never been easier. If you have access to a computer, you can be your own one-stop publishing house: writer, editor, marketing department, everything. That means every cent your book makes will end up in your pocket.

Here’s another ray of light: you don’t even have to write the e-book you’re selling!

Wait a Minute… I Don’t Have to Write Anything?

It’s true. Books that are in the public domain are books that are no longer covered by their copyright. That means anyone has the right to publish them…and profit from them!

(See my article “Proven Products – Yours for the Taking” for public domain guidelines.)

Check out www.archive.org and books.google.com. Those are just two sites where you’ll find hundreds of public domain books that you can publish in a digital format and profit from.

If you find a print copy of a public domain book, you can easily convert the book to a clean, digital format. If you’re not technically savvy, try www.bookscanning.com. They can take any book and scan it into a Word document and PDF.

Once you have it in a digital format, you can add new images, update the information, add a new introduction, even tinker with the format. With just a few small tweaks, you can take an old, “out-dated” book and really give it a new and updated polish.

Here are just a few of the writers in the public domain who you may have heard of: Shakespeare, the Brothers Grimm, Dickens, and Mark Twain.

But Wait! I Want To Write and Publish My Own E-Book!

No problem! In fact, this gives you the satisfaction of knowing that you added something totally unique to the marketplace – a very nice (and marketable) position to be in.

First, you have to decide what kind of e-book you’ll be writing. Let’s start with the big-picture and work our way down: Fiction or nonfiction? Are you a Romance Lit lover and always thought you could write one of your own? That’s great – because Romance Literature is the #1 bestselling fiction genre.

Independent e-book author Amanda Hocking has several book series out, including a “paranormal” romance series featuring vampires. She self-publishes her own books and has sold hundreds of thousands of copies – at $7 each.

But hey, maybe romance – or fiction – isn’t your thing. Maybe golf is. Great! Because however well fiction sells, as a whole, non-fiction sells even better. People love informational books. Do you feel passionate about golf? Real estate? Politics? Did you have a unique childhood? Does a relative of yours have a first-hand account of some historical event? All these can be turned into a great non-fiction e-book.

And the other great thing about all these topics – and Amanda’s vampire books too – is they tap into profitable themes and topics. That’s key if you hope to make any money with your e-books. You have to tap into hot trends. And that takes some market research.

Scan the Amazon.com bestseller lists. See what’s featured prominently in your local bookstore. Look at what you’re reading. What you’re friends and family are reading. From there you should get an idea of topics that will make for a bestseller.

The trick to writing an e-book is to actually write it. And I’m not being trite: if you want to sell your own product, you first need a product to sell. The best advice I can give you is this: sit down and write the thing. Don’t get hung up on the first chapter. Don’t spend a month looking for that perfect opening sentence.

Sit down and write. Nothing more, nothing less. Once you have the thing done, that’s when you take off your “writer” cap and put on your “editor” cap. Go back and clean up your manuscript. Move paragraphs around if you feel the structure could be better. Add more info here, delete some there. And don’t forget to spell-check!

Time to Sell

So you have a clean digital form of your e-book, whether it’s your own or a public domain work, including a nice layout and cover (which you can hire a graphic designer to do on elance.com for $20), and you’re ready to sell.

Now what? First, since you’re selling your book online, set up your own website (I like using www.godaddy.com for all my domain and hosting needs) and start selling your e-book.

Once you have your e-book published, time to get the word out. After all, if people don’t know about your book, how will they know to buy it? It’s time to get involved in social media! Set up Facebook and Twitter accounts, if you don’t already have them. Find websites that cater to your specific genre and see if your book can be featured there.

It’s all about word of mouth on the Internet. Use SEO to improve the visibility of your website and build it up with free content, such as short videos or excerpts from your book. Use forums and mailing lists to grow an online following. Above all, keep active and get your message out there!

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Best of luck!

John Hollister

P.S. I’ve just given you the facts and advice you need to publish and sell your very own e-book. But here are a few extra resources that will help you succeed in this exciting, profitable field.

Resources

E-Book Creations and Marketing Tips

http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/

http://www.copyblogger.com/create-ebooks-that-sell/

http://www.feedbooks.com/authors/top

Market Research

www.Amazon.com

Public Domain Work Sources

http://www.publicdomaintreasurehunter.com/

http://books.google.com/

http://archive.org

Designing Your E-Books

www.bookscanning.com

www.elance.com

I’m always on the look-out for a good deal at the supermarket. I try to stay away from items that are marked-up, but sometimes I just can’t.

You know those packages of pre-cut veggies like carrots, onions, and celery that grocery stores carry? Yea, I’m a sucker for them.

Just looking at the plastic containers on the shelves makes me feel guilty. I know full well that I am overpaying for these items. If I would just buy a bag of carrots and skin and cut them myself, I would save myself some dough.

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I’m definitely guilty of indulging in this small treat. I pay extra for the convenience factor those pre-cut veggies provide. Overpaying for items like these on a continual daily basis can really add up and cut into my budget.

Know what else people pay too much for? Wine. Go to any fine dining establishment and check out the prices they charge for a bottle of wine. You’ll see bottles listed for $40 and up a bottle. If you purchase those same bottles at discount beverage stores like Total Wine or BevMo!, you’ll find them at prices two to four times cheaper! Restaurants mark up their beverages like wine and champagne at insane margins.

Instead purchase a bottle from a package store at the discounted price and bring it to the restaurant. Let me run the numbers by you to demonstrate the savings you will incur. Most restaurants allow you to bring your own wine for an industry standard $10 corking fee. If you purchase a wine that is $15 or less, incur the corking fee of $10, your total expenditure will be $25. That’s still $15 less than the average price for bottle of wine at a restaurant. Plus, you’ll lower your total bill which means you save yourself some money on tipping as well.

While we’re talking about beverages, it would be lax of me to not mention bottled water. I’m not totally immune to the convenience factor bottled water brings to the table. It’s a necessary evil at the gym, on long road trips and stuffed in my purse when I’m out running errands all day. But buying 24 or 36 packs weekly or monthly is an expense no one should incur. The average price for these bad boys is between $4-5 a pack. If your family goes through two packages a week, that adds up to $480 a year! Ugh.

The numbers look even worse if you compare the price of bottled water to what comes out of your tap. Tap water will run you just a couple of pennies a glass. The kicker is that bottled water is actually worse for you than tap water. Tap water is continually tested and monitored for safety and quality. Most communities test their water hundreds of times each month. By comparison, bottled water is only tested once a week. A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that one-fifth of bottled waters exceeded state guidelines for microbial limits.  Now, that’s gross.

A great alternative to bottled water is buying a filtered water bottle.  Brita and several other companies make these small carry size water bottles.  So you get the convenience of bottled water at the price of tap.

Sticking to items bought primarily at grocery and convenience stores…let’s examine our afternoon snacks. I don’t know about you, but I try to eat healthy every once in a while. Sometimes I’ll grab a protein bar instead of a bag of chips or cookies. Those bars run me $2 a pop though AND many of them have as much sugar in them as a candy bar. So basically I am hurting my wallet and my waistline! I’ve found it’s cheaper and healthier to stock up on fruit and nuts at the grocery store.

Probably the largest overpayment comes from duplicate insurance. Take a look at your current automotive insurance coverage. Do you see a line that says Personal Injury Protection or PIP insurance on your premium?  Depending on the state you live in you may not need this coverage.  If you have a good health, life or disability insurance policy, chances are that you don’t need PIP coverage.  If you’re injured in an accident your health insurance should cover you, so carrying PIP insurance coverage on your automotive policy is pretty much duplicate coverage. Save money by eliminating this add-on from your auto policy.

A lot of insurance policies also offer roadside emergency services. They’ll send someone out to help you if you get a flat tire, run out of gas or need a tow. Those are all the same services organizations like AAA and National Automobile Club charge you a yearly fee for. Why pay for the same services twice? Compare the cost and benefits of the two offers and delete the lesser of the two, saving you some moolah!

We buy insurance for the peace of mind it gives us. We buy warranties for the same reason. Sales people try to convince us that warranties are a good thing. That if an item breaks after the standard 90 or 180 day warranty runs out the repair costs could be astronomical.

I have two issues with this line of bull crap. First, I don’t want any item if it’s going to break after three to six months. It’s not a quality product then. Try telling that to a sales person, they never know what to say to that. The look on their faces is worth it!

Secondly, most credit cards offer warranties for products bought with their cards. American Express offers just such a policy at no extra charge to its cardholder, with the added benefit of doubling the time of the manufacturer’s warranty up to one year. Call up your credit card company to see if they offer a similar service, sometimes they’ll ask you to register the product but that’s free to do as well.

Anytime you make a purchase from the electronics department you’ll be asked if you want to buy a warranty. Electronics are usually high-ticket items and retailers play on our fears that the items will cost more to repair than it’s worth. Know why it will cost more than it’s worth to repair? Because electronics depreciate about as fast a new cars do. Inevitably as soon as you buy the latest and greatest model of phone or television you start to hear commercials within weeks or months for the next generation of the same item. It’s better to buy last year’s models or buy gently used electronic items to get your money’s worth.

You get what you pay for, right? In cosmetics that’s not necessarily true. It’s a widely held belief that the more a cosmetics item costs, the more effective it will be. Cosmetics companies have been cramming this thought process down our throats for years now. But not one single study has found that higher-end products are more effective than ones bought from drug stores. Plus, no one can ever tell you are wearing a $29 mascara versus a $10 one! Instead try buying most of your cosmetics from discount stores and only splurging on one or two items from high-end retailers.

The opportunity to overpay for common, everyday items is endless. Everything from what we drink to what we wear provides us with an opportunity to pay more than we need to. The trick is to not make it a habit.

Hopefully after reading this you’ll feel a little more empowered at the store and your wallet will feel a bit heavier with all that cash you didn’t spend!

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Keeping Money in Your Pocket,

Nancy Patterson

“What’s the point in a reward if you ain’t around to enjoy it?”

- Han Solo.

Hello once again, and I hope you’re well. No, I really mean it: I hope you’re well. Because most of America is NOT well, and they don’t even know it.

You don’t need to be a Star Wars fan to appreciate where that famous movie line is coming from and where I’m about to go. Yes, I’d like to talk about your actual life, your biological existence, this week.

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Personally, whenever I hear the word “health”, I recoil. My mind conjures up images of bird seed, panting in the gym, and being eternally hungry as I jealously watch other people eating Big Macs. Know what I mean?

So I prefer the word “longevity”. There. Don’t you suddenly feel more comfortable? It gets interesting when we stop imagining pain and start imagining living forever, doesn’t it?

The good news is there are truly amazing things happening in the biotech industry regarding your longevity. Within a few years now, you’ll be able to map your personal DNA sequence for a hundred bucks and see pretty much when and how you will die of old age. Liver failure at 72? Okay, we’ll start growing you a new one using your liver stem cells.

What’s coming out of that biotech world is real now, not just theoretical, and mind-blowing. We’re talking borderline immortality. Your cells reproduce and replenish, right? This is because of something on your DNA strand called ‘telemores’. But when the telemores run out, you can’t replenish anymore, and you die. But they’re now working on ways to make your telemores everlasting. Guess where the new stock market bubble will be within the next ten years….

The bad news? Well, there’s no easy way of saying it: you either won’t be able to afford it unless you live long enough for the price to come down OR some disease like cancer will kill you before it happens (many people are said to die of “old age” when they actually die from some sort of cancer). So let’s see about changing that outcome, shall we?

The statistics for cancer are truly frightening. The World Health Organization has estimated that cancer incidences will increase by 50% by 2020. One in three Americans is affected in some way by cancer. By all reasonable measures, conventional medicine has failed to cure this disease since Nixon declared a War on Cancer in the 70s- despite billions of dollars spent, the cases of cancer are only rising. If you don’t call that a failure (of modern medicine) what DO you call it?

What could possibly have gone wrong? Aren’t American doctors omnipotent gods who know everything? Evidently not. The USA ranks 36th for life expectancy. That’s worse than Cuba…

Is there another way? A way everyone’s missing? Absolutely, and I spent two years of my life researching and writing a bestselling book about the fact. A book that several medical doctors took the time to congratulate me about based on its medical accuracy and explanations of the problem. (By the way, I’m going to be offering a FREE copy of that book to the first 1,000 League of Power readers who also subscribe to our FREE natural cures newsletter that’s about to be launched any day now.)

Let’s start with what we KNOW about cancer. Consider this analogy: if your immune system is your biological security service, cancer is a security agent who’s gone ‘rogue’; an agent that no longer obeys orders from command, and instead just does its own thing.

It’s no wonder why our own immune system refuses to fight cancer (that’s right, REFUSES): it won’t fight an organism it presumes is one of their own. You see, a tumor forms as a result of your immune system not knowing when to stop repairing damage. Stem cells keep rushing to the affected area even when the damage is repaired, and the excess tissue is a tumor.

So, and this is crucial in your understanding, THE TUMOR IS A SYMPTOM, NOT A CAUSE. That’s why only around 15% of tumor cells are cancer cells. And yet, modern medicine focuses on cutting and burning tumors away, and measuring tumor size as a means of declaring success or failure in cancer treatment. Why on Earth? It makes no sense. Well, it makes  sense if you’re a medical doctor who’s had approximately ZERO training in nutrition. And nutrition, my dear reader, is where the answer lays…

A little background to set the scene, again, based on what we KNOW about cancer…

First. Cancer is a MODERN disease. It’s really only been prevalent in the last 60 years (since World War II). So wouldn’t it be reasonable to understand what changed 60 years ago to give us a clue about cancer’s birth? So what happened in this post-war world?

What happened is that agriculture became mechanized. People moved to the cities. Women, after working in factories during the war, decided that they rather liked working (and nothing wrong with that). The result? Both couples working in the city, and nobody at home to buy fresh groceries and cook a fresh meal each day. Enter convenience food.

Second. Cancer is a HUMAN disease. Wild animals do not get cancer, period. The only animals to get cancer are those in captivity or pets or wild animals who have eaten human garbage.

So cancer is a modern disease found only in human animals. What’s happened to humans only, and only in the post war years? Answer this, and you have the cause of cancer. And when you know the cause of cancer, you can stop it. Make sense?

I’ll answer this question by using something simple and that you’re familiar with: a licorice twist…

Recipes got handed down for various things for centuries… for good reasons. Because our ancestors knew things. Tens of thousands of years of trial and error taught them that certain nutrients had certain healing properties. Our ancestors may not have had iphones, but they weren’t completely backward or you or I would not be living today. They SURVIVED. So give them credit, and don’t write them off as savages.

Licorice is just one of many examples. Real licorice root can aid several health conditions, such as stomach ulcers, a sore throat, and high cholesterol. Our ancestors knew this. But raw licorice tastes dreadful, so they blended it with sugar cane and the licorice twist was the result: a tasty treat for children.

But in the post war era, some bright spark discovered a way to IMITATE the flavor of licorice with a chemical. And this chemical (aptly titled: artificial flavoring) was a heck of a lot cheaper than licorice root as an ingredient.

The American consumer is all about value, so people bought the cheapest licorice twist, which was the one that tasted exactly the same as the more expensive brand that used real licorice. So the real licorice twist manufacturer went out of business, and the food manufacturers’ profits soared as this clever new way of tricking peoples’ taste buds gave them pricing power.

So let’s take a look at what our booming post-war society accomplished here, taking the simple old licorice twist as an example…

1.    We took OUT the good stuff (licorice). BAD.

2.    We put IN the bad stuff (chemicals). From BAD to WORSE.

And then we scratch our heads in amazement when our immune system goes haywire…

WAKE UP, EVERYONE. Before it’s too late. It’s that critical.

This applies to all food, of course. I merely use the licorice twist as one example.

We’ve become desensitised to the phrase ‘artificial ingredients’ on food packaging when it should be raising a big, red flag. Conversely, we look at ‘organic’ food with suspicion, as if it’s some kind of fad! Listen closely…

‘Organic’ food is not a fad. It’s just the way food always was! Un-messed with!

Organic food should simply be referred to as “food”, and anything else should be the thing that causes suspicion- labelled as “artificial food”.

Thankfully, some people ARE waking up. And thankfully, certain, responsible food manufacturers are making things the way they used to. (By the way, if you want a licorice twist the way it used to be, Paul Newman brand ingredients are as follows: organic wheat flour, organic sugar, corn syrup, organic tapioca syrup, vegetable glycerin, sunflower oil, elderberry extract, licorice root extract. Real licorice? Imagine that! How people are allowed to advertise anything “licorice” without any licorice in the product defies belief.)

Yes, it costs more. But that’s the TRUE cost of food. And what’s more, that’s the cheapest healthcare money can buy.

You may have a full stomach, but you’re starving to death. When you buy a computer you treat it well. You keep it from harm and make sure no nasty viruses contaminate it. But you can buy a new computer. You can’t buy a new body (yet).

The consumer is in control. Don’t buy their product, and the corporations will stop poisoning the population.

So you have to stop the poison going in. But that’s just one half of the battle. The other half is to ensure you’re putting the right things in you instead, and there are natural foods that can and DO cure cancer for thousands of Americans every year. But we’ll save that conversation for another time…

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—
I’m about to get on a flight to the UK as I push the ‘send’ button, and my 12 year old son is looking forward to seeing his Dad, as my 6 month old daughter waves a jammy hand goodbye. I’ll be over there for a couple of weeks in what appears to be constant rain.

Still, it makes you appreciate Florida all the more on the return. It’s a bit like your health, I suppose. You don’t appreciate it until it’s gone.

And that’s like time itself, isn’t it? The moment you’re in now, the things you’re doing, are the pages in your history book being written. So make them count, and appreciate them, and be conscious of what’s being written. Because until the biotech geniuses really do invent immortality, these precious moments are all we have and who we are…

Speak to you next week from sunny London…

Jim Sheridan.

Facebook did it. So did YouTube. Amazon too.

I’m talking about capitalizing on trends to make money online.

Facebook took advantage of the explosion of social media. YouTube harnessed a worldwide desire for online video. And Amazon, of course, rode the ecommerce tsunami.

As an individual entrepreneur you can use this same concept – profiting from hot trends – to make your own fortune with an online business.

Don’t be daunted by the big names I just mentioned – you won’t be competing against these web-behemoths. Your business will be on a much smaller scale, with minimal start up costs and no previous business, marketing, or Internet experience needed. All you need is that desire to be an entrepreneur.

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Ecommerce is a $223 billion business these days in the United States alone. And much of that money is being made not by big companies (which are actually not as profitable as you might think) but by “mom and pop” online businesses in specific niches that have very low overhead and provide their owners with a very tidy passive income.

There are thousands of little websites that cater to very specific audiences of people interested in very specific topics.

I know people who right now run their own websites as a part-time job (an hour or two a day, max) that bring in up to $4,000 each month. Sure, it took some effort to get to this point. But after a few months of – gasp – 8 hour days they were able to progressively dial back work time to the bare minimum.

Entrepreneur Peter Genot has a fitness and nutrition website, The Healthy Minute. He’s been into this niche on a personal level for years, along with millions of people across the country. He was able to capitalize on that interest to create a profitable business. Success mentor PJ McClure transformed his lifelong passion for self-growth and self-help (which is always popular) into his online venture, The Mindset Maven.

My family is even getting in on the act.

Since we moved to Costa Rica, my wife has started putting together a travel website to take advantage of the tremendous interest in the country, which is a top travel spot and home to an estimated 50,000 expats. Since we have a 5-year-old, she’s focusing on kid-friendly destinations and activities.

This type of business is perfect for her because it’s part-time and she can work from home.

And I’ve urged my recently laid off brother to start his own web business, too. Since there’s not much of an upfront investment needed – about $50, I thought it would be a perfect way for him to get back into the “workforce” without having to brave this horrible job market.

To start your own online business from the ground up, to nurture it into an actual money-making endeavor, is not as hard as it may seem. The type of online business you’re going to learn about today basically runs itself, with little maintenance needed once you’ve completed the initial set up.

Identifying Trends

There’s no one place you can go to find the hottest trends, the ones that will make for a perfect online business.

You identify trends by keeping up with current events, monitoring what types of online businesses start up, making note of the types of online ads you see on your favorite websites… you can even look offline at what’s in the news and magazines you read. When the same products and themes start showing up regularly… you have a trend.

Google News and Yahoo News are great places to spot trending topics as they are a round up of all the news going around the Web. You can also try websites, publications, and blogs that cover specific niches. For example, Wired Magazine’s website is a great resource for identifying technology-oriented trends.

Buzzfeed.com monitors trending topics and “memes” (webspeak for hot trends).

Of course, not every “hot” topic can be turned into a profitable business.

Once you’ve identified what you think is a hot trend, you’ll want to do some research to confirm your hunch that it can be a profitable business. You’ll do this using some quick and easy-to-use (and free) online tools. Check out my article “Turning Your Business Ideas into Online Profits” for step by step instructions.

So what are some current trends that are hot right now?

Interested in organic gardening? There are many profitable websites run by online entrepreneurs who are making money thanks to the current worldwide interest in organic foods. How about yoga, stock investing, or self-help (to name just three of thousands)? Again those trends are strong enough to sustain not just big-name businesses, but many, many small online businesses as well.

Your Information Website – the Heart of Your Business

Once you’ve chosen the niche for your business, you’re ready to set up your online business. The heart of that business is your website.

You can easily set up a website in a few easy steps:

First you need a website address, or domain name. It should be short, clear, and tell web surfers (your prospects) exactly what your site is about. It should also be easy to remember so people can come back later and tell friends and family. Avoid being too clever.

If you have an organic gardening site, for example, you wouldn’t want to use www.organikgardunz.com or www.tomandkatesawesomeorganicgardensite.com. Try www.organicveggies.com.

I recommend using GoDaddy.com to research available domain names. Once you find one, grab it. It’ll only cost about $10 and that way you can be sure nobody else gets it first.

Working with GoDaddy makes the next step easy, which is securing hosting for your website. Once you’ve bought your domain just click on the “Hosting” tab on the page and follow the instructions. Hosting accounts start at about $3 a month.

Once you have a domain and hosting, you need to be able to publish your website for the world to see. I recommend WordPress, which is free and has thousands of free templates you can use to customize your site. Again, you can secure your copy of WordPress through GoDaddy.com.

In three quick steps your website is live. If you need help there are online tutorials on the GoDaddy site and they have attentive customer support.

(A completely free solution for a domain name and hosting can be found at WordPress’s website (www.wordpress.com) or Blogger, www.blogger.com. The blog format can also be used to create an information website following trends. The only drawback using these services is that you can’t completely customize your domain name.)

Creating a “Passive” Website for Passive Income

Once you have your site ready to go, it’s time to start making it a viable business. Today, we’ll focus on having a “passive” site that makes money by attracting visitors through search engine optimization.

Doing it this way also saves you from the hassle of having to do much more work to find JV partners, create products, build a subscriber list, create marketing and ads to send that list… that’s a topic for a future Weekend Business Blueprint.

Don’t worry – you don’t need to be an SEO expert or even hire one. You’ll attract web traffic simply by adding quality content on the trend you’ve picked for your business.

You could include how to articles or videos. Comment on news or current events in that niche. Write product reviews. Put together “top 10″ lists. Those are just some idea starters for your website content. Check out some of your competitors’ websites for more ideas. Don’t plagiarize, of course. But you can find inspiration there.

Because you’ve chosen a “hot” trend (more on how to do that in a moment) you’ll rank high in the search engine rankings. Simply put, when people search the Web for information on something related to your topic on Google or Bing, they’ll find your site and then click on over.

That prequalifies them when they come to your site. These folks already have an interest in the topic and types of products you’re selling. They’re already “sold” in some ways.

And because you’re regularly adding high quality free articles, blog posts, videos, and more full of solid information and advice, they’ll come to trust you and make you a go-to resource. So when you do offer something for sale, they’re more likely to buy.

Which brings us to…

Profiting from Hot Trends

There are a few avenues for you to capitalize on an interest in a hot trend.

Your website will be made up mostly of free articles, videos, and other content.

But there is plenty of room to include ads from Google AdSense or Amazon sprinkled throughout your site. You could also include affiliate links for relevant products in blog posts, product reviews, or website articles, or even have a Recommended Products page on your site.

You can search affiliate networks like Clickbank.com (which offers information products), Amazon, or Commission Junction for products in your niche.

As I mentioned, because you are providing great free content, people are more likely to click on those ad and affiliate links and buy products you’ve endorsed by including on your site. And they are more likely to buy once they get to the affiliate website.

In affiliate marketing you get paid a commission every time one of your website visitors purchases a product. And the best part is you don’t have to worry about customer service, actually fulfilling the product, handling refunds, creating advertising… they take care of everything.

As I mentioned, it’s quite easy to make $4,000+ per month with an established information website.

Eventually, your website will contain dozens and dozens of pages – then it’ll be hundreds. But don’t fret, there’s no deadline.

Start out with a homepage and maybe add two or three articles. Make it a point to add content at least a few times a week.

Slowly build your website. Don’t burn out by trying to build an Amazon overnight! Slowly but surely your website – the basis of your business – will grow. More and more people will find it through web searches and more customers will arrive on your virtual doorstep.

Soon you’ll have a profit machine that is running on autopilot. Remember as an affiliate you don’t have to keep up with any customer service or deliver orders. Your job is to simply add content.

Doing just that, it’s entirely possible to earn a full-time salary by only working part-time. And you’ll be making that money from the comfort of your own, without the pressures of boss, time clock, or commute.

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Best of luck!

John Hollister

P.S. I’ve just given you the steps to take to build your own profitable information website. But here are a few extra resources to help you along your way to financial success.

Resources

Trend Spotting

Yahoo News – news.yahoo.com

Google News – news.google.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com

Buzzfeed – Trending “Memes” – www.buzzfeed.com

Wired Magazine – Technology news – www.wired.com

Building Your Site

GoDaddy – The best place to buy your domain and get web hosting – www.godaddy.com

WordPress – A very intuitive website building software – www.wordpress.com

Blogger – A free solution (free domain and hosting) to set up a blog in minutes – www.blogger.com

Affiliate and Ad Networks

AdSense – Premier PPC ad network – www.google.com/adsense

Clickbank – Specializes in information products – www.clickbank.com

Amazon – Everything Amazon sells, you can promote as an affiliate – affiliate-program.amazon.com

Commission Junction – Runs affiliate programs for many major retailers and brands – www.cj.com

Have you ever walked into a grocery store to pick up just one item and walked out with two bags worth of stuff? Yea, me too.

Grrrr…it makes me so angry whenever I do things like this. Retailers are so adept at getting us to spend more money than we intend to once we walk into their shops. The big companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually researching exactly how to make us buy things we never intended to. And it’s working, big time. A study by the retail branding firm, The Integer Group, found that 9 out of 10 shoppers make impulse purchases.

Impulse purchases are often described as unplanned, spontaneous purchases that are done without any prior research by the customer. In general there are five methods retailers employ to get us to part with our money, without us even realizing it. Knowing when you’re being sold, is half the battle!

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Ever walked into a grocery store and seen hundreds of Coca-Cola or Pepsi twelve packs stacked in an amazing design, stacked all the way up to the ceiling? Yea…that’s a retailers attempt to dazzle you and make you lose control.

Grocery stores do it with drinks and retailers do it thru color. Clothing retailers are famous for using this technique as well. Usually as soon as you walk into their store a group of similarly colored items will catch your eye. There will be a mannequin or two sporting a new, bold color standing next to a display case of shirts, pants or whatever in a similar shade. All of which is done under the guise of catching our attention.

Once they’ve got our attention, their aim is to get us to want the item so bad we buy it without much thought. Trust me, if a display dazzles you and it’s near the entrance…YOU ARE BEING SOLD!!

Professional poker players try and find out what their opponents ‘tell’ is. They look for the twiddling of chips between the fingers, the infinitesimal furrowing of the brow, or an exhalation of breath for signs their opponent is bluffing. Any item placed in a front and center location is usually a dead giveaway of an impulse purchase item, but it’s not an item’s only tell.

As I walked down the long rows of tank tops at Old Navy this past weekend I couldn’t help but notice that nearly every display table had a special pricing sign on it. One such sign proclaimed: Buy 1 for $12.99 or 2 for $9.99 each. Macy’s had a similar display that went something like this: Buy 1 save 10%, Buy 2 save 20%, Buy 3 save 30%!

All of these “deals” got me thinking. How many of the same thing do I really need? Retailers seem to be telling me that the more I buy, the more I will save. The reality is that promotional pricing like this is a technique used to get you to spend more money than you originally intended to. Think about it. If that display table of tank tops had a sign on it that read $9.99 each would you buy more than one? Probably not.

Another technique this Old Navy store seemed to rely on was the point of purchase displays. Oh man I wish I would have taken a picture of how they wrapped customers around a long display case chock full of small items while we waited in line for the next available check-out clerk. The beauty store Sephora is really good at this too. As you stand in line to pay for your purchases, you have stands on your right and left sides full of items that might as well be stamped with the words IMPULSE BUY! Travel sized nail polishes, fold-up brushes that are great for traveling, chap-sticks in every imaginable color, and tiny hand-held mirrors that somehow are the perfect size to fit in my clutch, line these tables begging me to touch them while convincing me I need them.

Every type of store has perfected the point of purchase impulse buy items. Grocery stores stock magazines and candy for you to look at while waiting to pay for your food items. Electronic stores like Best Buy stack batteries, protective casings for our cell phones, and cleaning cloths for our new equipment along the check-out stations.

Just know that all of those items placed within reaching distance are put there for a specific purpose…to get us to buy them without thinking about it! We are being sold!

As you become more and more aware of the tricks stores employ to get us to spend more money with them, you will be able to pick out new ones very easily. Mother’s Day is about two weeks away. See if you can spot this marketing technique for yourself the next time you go into a store. Retailers love to use holidays and current trends to get us to buy their stuff. Grocery stores will put Mother’s Day cards at random places around the store and beef up their flower displays to get you to buy one for mom.

Just wait till the weeks before the fourth of July. Suddenly red, white and blue decorations will be placed next to charcoal and Independence Day themed paper plates and other grilling items. All of these items, that aren’t normally grouped together, will be placed front and center to convince us that we need them and that last year’s ones simply won’t do. These displays are not on accident.

Nor is it an accident that electronics stores tell you that you simply must get a new USB cord or HDMI cable whenever you buy a new TV or laptop. For electronic stores, cross-sells like these constitute a major source of their revenue.

You’ll see the cross-sell technique used quite well in clothing retailers as well. Once I’ve found a dress I like, inevitably a sales assistant will be there to convince me that I simply must buy the belt that will make the dress even prettier or the earrings that brings out the color of my eyes. Gag me.

Cross-selling is rampant online. Every time I place an item to my cart a pop-up appears to tell me what similar customers have bought with that product. It’s all in an effort to get us to spend more money with them. We see it as a helpful suggestion; retailers see it as adding to their bottom line.

Next time you head to the grocery store or clothing retailers try to spot one of these impulse buying techniques. Now that you are a little more informed about the games these companies play, hopefully you’ll be better able to defend against them. Perhaps even you’ll leave the store with only one bag or your cart will be a little less full, and that’s a good thing.

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Keeping Money in Your Pocket,

Nancy Patterson

Hello again, and I hope you’re sitting down…

As promised last week, I’m going to explain what I’m simply referring to as The Great Inflation, because it’s going to affect you, and it’s going to happen faster than people think, albeit in an insidious way.

Of course, what you’re going to read now is only my opinion. I may be wrong, but the evidence isn’t pointing that way, and I’m not alone in this inconvenient thesis. In any case, keep an open mind and don’t let your mind be swayed by how you’d LIKE things to be, but how things ARE. I say this because a significant number of comments we get from readers are, while positive, suggesting that they’re living according to how they would LIKE the world to be, not how it IS.

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I’ve written at length in these newsletters about fantasy and reality and I’ll come back to it another time, because this seems to be a disease that is spreading, and it’s a disease that’s dangerous for your wealth, because reality is where money is made, not fantasy (and my base assumption is that you’re here because you want wealth, success, freedom, health, and all that good stuff). And what I’ll explain here today is as much as OPPORTUNITY as an impending crisis.

I hope you don’t mind, but I see you as a friend that I speak to every week. A TRUE friend tells you the truth, however uncomfortable that truth is. Most ‘friends’ tell you what you want to hear. If that’s the kind of friend you want, listen to the mainstream media. They tell you what you want to hear because they need to sell ad space and please their sponsors. I have no obligation to anyone other than YOU when I write these letters.

So please let me set the stage for the government-induced drama that’s about to play out…

Long-time readers will know I’m not a big fan of The Federal Reserve. For years now we’ve been trying to alert you about their legalized counterfeiting program they risibly refer to as “Quantitative Easing”. The whole world swallowed this nonsense without a single raised eyebrow. And don’t think I’m singling them out, because most Western governments are at it: the UK, Europe, Japan. Norway stands out to me as the only country that seems to be able to balance a checkbook.

There is nothing “Federal” about The Federal Reserve. It’s a private organization that was formed by bankers on Jekyll Island in 1913. It is charged with making a profit. And it doesn’t have any “Reserves”, that’s just a play on words to instill confidence.

As we’ve witnessed economic crisis after economic crisis (induced by greed and corruption by The Fed’s buddies on Wall Street), the masses cheer as the good ol’ Fed comes to the rescue and puts the bounce back into the market’s step.

This is why speaking this way with many people is so unpopular- because The Fed are perceived to be the heroes who make the monster under the bed go away.

But there’s a price to pay for this protection…

If you read the classic H.G. Wells novel, “The Time Machine”, or watched the film adaptation, you’ll recall that the inventor of the time machine races into the future to experience what appears to be a utopian existence on Earth. In this utopia, nothing bad ever seems to happen to a race of pretty humans called “Eloi”. Food is provided in this paradise as if by magic. They live in blissful ignorance, and the libraries have turned to dust because nobody needs to know anything anymore.

But there’s a secret price for the Eloi to pay, as it turns out. A race of grim monsters called “Morlocks” live underground and provide the good life for the Eloi, but the Elois are all ultimately doomed as the Morlocks take them for sacrifice in payment for what the Morlocks provide.

Consider The Fed as the Morlocks, and your good self as a humble Eloi. Good fiction authors are always trying to warn society about injustices they see all around, albeit in a metaphorical way…

As you don’t want to end up like those happy but ignorant Eloi then, let’s have a little history…

After the Second World War, a system similar to a Gold Standard and sometimes described as a “gold exchange standard” was established by the Bretton Woods Agreement. Under this system, many countries fixed their exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar, and the dollar became the world’s reserve currency. This effectively meant that anyone could exchange their dollars for physical gold.

As the US struggled in the 60s with a bad balance of payments, mostly because of The Vietnam War, foreign countries such as France took America up on this promise and started cashing in their depreciating dollars for gold.

And in response to this, Nixon slammed the door in 1971 and ended the Gold Standard (known as The Nixon Shock). Since then, our government has been on what is called a ‘fiat’ currency, that is, a currency that is only worth as much as the promise of a politician, it’s not linked to anything of intrinsic value.

In 1996, Nobel-prize winning American economist Paul Krugman summarized the post-Nixon Shock era as follows (emphasis mine):

“The current world monetary system assigns no special role to gold; indeed, the Federal Reserve is not obliged to tie the dollar to anything. It can print as much or as little money as it deems appropriate. There are powerful advantages to such an unconstrained system. Above all, the Fed is free to respond to actual or threatened recessions by pumping in money. To take only one example, that flexibility is the reason the stock market crash of 1987–which started out every bit as frightening as that of 1929–did not cause a slump in the real economy. While a freely floating national money has advantages, however, it also has risks. For one thing, it can create uncertainties for international traders and investors. Over the past five years, the dollar has been worth as much as 120 yen and as little as 80. The costs of this volatility are hard to measure (partly because sophisticated financial markets allow businesses to hedge much of that risk), but they must be significant. Furthermore, a system that leaves mone tary managers free to do good also leaves them free to be irresponsible–and, in some countries, they have been quick to take the opportunity.”

Countries like Zimbabwe, for example. Here’s what a Zimbabwean One-Hundred Trillion Dollar bill looks like:

I guess everyone’s a high roller there, then! And don’t think things like this are restricted to banana republics in Africa- the list of countries in recent history that have played with the inflationary fire and got scolded goes back to Roman times, and include famous examples such as Germany in the 1930s, AND the USA TWICE (the revolutionary war and the civil war), and Argentina very recently.

The middle classes lose the shirt on their backs when this happens because in a Great Inflation wages do not keep up with prices.

The government has made itself clear- not in words on CNN, but with actions in the markets, about what it intends to do…

Uncle Sam is currently staring down the barrel of a rather large shotgun. Through politicians (Republican, Democrat, whatever- they’re all to blame) spending money they don’t have (mostly on ‘free money’ promises to get elected). This debt is coming due within a few years and the interest payments on this debt alone is astronomical. Other governments are all trying to borrow as well so there’s competition out there for government borrowing. The situation is more critical than they will ever tell you.

In short, the government desperately needs money, and fast, or it will risk sovereign bankruptcy. And here are the ONLY options they face to get that money:

1.    Tax more.

2.    Spend less.

3.    Print all the money they need to buy their own debt.

In a democracy, the first two options will not win votes!

So that ONLY leaves option 3 (hey, I guess they read my newsletter a couple of weeks ago about “The Third Option”). And they have demonstrated their choice of option 3 ever since late 2008 when the price of gold was less than half of what it is now. There is no other way out of this mess. This is the path Weimar Germany took in the 1930s.

So the Eloi (read: middle and working classes) are about to pay a dear price. For decades they’ve enjoyed free food on their table from the Morlocks, and there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

The bill for this bountiful lunch has come due, and it will be presented stealthily, and in a way that the government can deny accountability for catastrophic service. The finger will probably be pointed at rich people- all politicians need a scapegoat to deflect blame, like the Jews in 1930s Germany.

I don’t think this is a good situation- I think it’s truly appalling, actually. I sincerely wish this were NOT true. But it is. And I must deal in reality, not how I want things to be, but how they ARE.

Imagine the world as an empty bathtub. This emptiness is what deflation causes, that’s what the world economy naturally has wanted to do for years but the government stopped it. That’s what happened in the Great Depression.

But now imagine that The Fed comes along with a hosepipe, and it’s going to flood that bathtub. Anything tangible is going to float in this sea of printed money. Real estate, stocks, gold, anything that is TRULY tangible. Cash is NOT tangible, and neither are government bonds.

The danger is that everything you think you know about money, and what every investment professional thinks they know about money could betray you in The Great Inflation: cash in the bank is NOT good in this situation. It will be made worthless.

Employee wages are NOT good in this situation. Employers will not be able to pay wages that keep up with inflation.

And any business that does not have pricing power will suffer. If the costs of its raw materials and/or services go up, it has to either raise prices or go under. If it has no pricing power and the cost of its materials has gone up, profit is wiped out (hence they can’t pay higher wages to keep up with inflation and the cycle escalates).

Want to know what asset fares best in The Great Inflation?

No, it’s not gold (though gold will do very well).

It’s stocks. And that’s why I’m no longer bearish on stocks or real estate. In fact, I think we’re about to see the biggest asset snatch since The New World was discovered as everyone scrambles to grab anything that floats as The Great Inflation starts to bite. I think it could be a panic that creeps up on us, actually.

There has never been a more crucial time for you to get into business for yourself, especially one that has pricing power. Think Internet. Think anything with high perceived value and/or high profit margins that preferably doesn’t require raw materials. You have to become financially independent ASAP, you must have a safety net.

The good news is that if you own your home, it’s going to go up in value and your mortgage payment will stay the same in line with wages. If you don’t own a home but were thinking about buying, MOVE now and lock in these interest rates.

So mortgage payments will stay the same, but gas prices and food prices? Forget it. Now, why do you think the government excludes food and gas from the inflation figure they quote? Hmmm, I can’t think why…

Your power bill, your cable bill, insurance bill, all up. Property tax probably too.

If you were thinking about changing cars, do so now, and perhaps make it a hybrid. And don’t pay cash for it- you could put that money into something that will float with inflation, like a stock.

Again, I wish it wasn’t the likely outcome, but it is. Wages and welfare will stay the same, but expenses will rise, and the squeeze will be on. This can only result in a drop in the standard of living for the average American.

I’m saying this as a friend who cares about you, and who sees a storm in the next few years. You still have time, time to become financially independent, time to get into hard assets.

And when The Great Inflation comes, you’ll thank me, even though it’s disconcerting now. And when that time comes, make sure you know who’s really responsible for the mess, and don’t go blaming the scapegoats the politicians select.

The people were entrusted with the right to vote. They voted for “free money”. And that’s precisely what they’ll get: free money. And it will be free because it will be worthless.

And that’s what the Eloi voted for too.

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Best wishes until next week,

Jim Sheridan.